The Trouble With Lust
by coldqueen
Summary: Five Vignettes, each one based on one theme, taken from a troublesome relationship...what relationship? Why, Ronon and Elizabeth Weir, of course!COMPLETE
1. You Say Things

Author's Note: This is a series of vignettees, for Stages of Love, on Livejournal. It's going to be Ronan/Weir, so brace yourselves! FOR A WILD RIDE!

Basically, how this works is that I have a whole story to write, with five separate sections. Each section can only be 500 words, and must contain the theme. For this first section, the theme is first fight. Wish me luck, readers! And I hope you enjoy!

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**The Trouble With Lust...**

Summary: Post-Michael, Pre-Allies; Ronon and Weir have only recently realized their attraction, but recent events throw a wrench into the relationship before it's even formed.

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Vignette 1: **...You Say Things You Regret**

"It wasn't the complete disaster I thought it would be," Elizabeth Weir stated as she entered her office. She wasn't alone, since Ronon Dex was sitting in one of two chairs in front of her desk. The day had been tough on her, both as a woman and as a leader. Ronon didn't reply, but looked at her skeptically. "It wasn't."

"It could have been worse?" He questioned as he straightened in the chair, locking her in his amber gaze. Instead of taking her customary seat behind the desk, she opted for the chair next to him. Even as she sat, she ran her hand across the back of his chair, not mentioning that she loved it when he was angry. He was so sexy.

Elizabeth dragged her thoughts out of that murky territory back to the subject at hand. Michael, former wraith, had escaped today. Taking Teyla with him, leaving Sheppard and Ronon to follow and rescue her. Elizabeth wondered if Ronon was more upset about Michael escaping and still being alive, or for Michael to have taken Teyla. It'd always intrigued her, the connection between Teyla and Ronon. Now, since she and Ronon were…er…seeing each other, it wasn't intriguing, it was worrying.

"We could have all died."

"Tell that to the guy who _did_ die."

Elizabeth looked away, guilt and grief coloring her face. If Ronon had been anyone else, he'd have comforted her. As it was, he was who he was. "If you'd listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Mess? We got a lot of valuable knowledge out of this 'mess'."

"Like what?"

"We found a new weapon against the Wraith. We know how their bodies work. We know that with this new weapon they can't feed."

"Was it worth someone's life?"

Elizabeth glared at him, getting up and walking to her usual seat on the other side of the desk. She wasn't in the mood to be close to him anymore. Ronon had never taken this tone with her. They'd only been together for several weeks, and before now nothing had ever really caused them to disagree. "When this information can be used to save hundreds of humans who are currently on this planet, then yes."

"The needs of the many, eh?" Ronon asked, raising so that he towered over Elizabeth in a vaguely intimidating manner. "Will that keep you warm at night?"

"I thought you liked to keep me warm at night?" Elizabeth asked, feeling ornery with no idea as to why.

"I don't sleep with murderers."

Ronon left, and Elizabeth gaped after him. It took her a few seconds to realize that she felt an overwhelming urge to cry. She hated him in that moment. She hated him, because he was right.


	2. You Begin to Crave

The Trouble With Lust…You Begin to Crave What Only She Can Give

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All of Atlantis was tense, the threat of an incoming Hive ship was beginning to wear on everyone's nerves. Fights were breaking out all over the place in Atlantis. So many, in fact, that Elizabeth ordered everyone to take a few hours off when they could. Go explore the mainland, go exercise, anything to get rid of the tension in the air. Fighting amongst ones' selves was not the manner in which to defeat the Wraith. 

She didn't take a break, and Ronon noticed. He noticed everything about her. They hadn't spoken to each other since their conversation last week, but he still yearned for her. He'd lied. Anger had colored his mind and made him say things he didn't want to. What was done was done. He missed her. Missed the smell of her on his sheets. Missed her laughter in the morning. He'd never known that there was a difference between being alone and being lonely. He'd been alone for seven years, but three weeks with her and he was suddenly lonely.

That was why he found himself outside her quarters tonight. His hand was poised to activate the bell, but he found himself frozen. He was giving in to her. Weakening. Surrendering. It wasn't a situation he'd ever found himself in. How does one proceed?

The decision was taken from him. The door opened and he hadn't touched anything. Elizabeth froze in the doorway, surprised at finding him there. For a few seconds, she couldn't think. She'd dreamt of him at night, and the dreams were wracked with guilt. He was right, and she didn't know how to tell him that. She'd found herself overstressing the situation, making it so large in her mind that she couldn't see them ever getting over it. He'd been right and by not listening, she'd gotten a man killed. The blood was clear as day on her hands.

They stared at one another, both with circles under their eyes, both so still that their muscles ticked with tension. Finally, Ronon brought his hand up, gently moving a strand of her hair from her face. His touch lingered, and she understood. He wanted her.

She stepped aside, and he stepped in, pulling her close immediately. Neither cared that people in the hall had seen the encounter, because their thoughts weren't there anymore. Their thoughts were only on one another, and for the moment, that was all that mattered.

Late into the night, they came together, and the world was right. Something hung over them though. Doubt clouded every action, and worry was still evident. Elizabeth would have liked to have blamed it all on the Wraith, and her fear. It wasn't that. Ronon made her worry. She was losing her heart to a warrior, when words were what mattered most to her. Would he ever be able to understand that?


	3. You See Things

Trouble in Paradise (first fight, make-up/make-up sex, jealousy, break-up and reconciliation)

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up, but last month my modem got wiped out during a thunder storm and I had to get a new one, so I lost everything I'd written! After coming back, my muse demanded that I give my JLU fic it's due, so I did that. Now, I'm back to this, though! It'll be finished something this week, so that means you've got three new chapters coming! Plus, when I finish this, I'll start in on the other Ronon/Liz story I have up!

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**Chapter Three: The Trouble With Lust...It Makes You See Things That Aren't There

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**

The entanglements of emotional relationships makes life on a colony hard. Atlantis was nothing, if not an Earth colony. All alone in a new galaxy, these people had only each other to rely on. They got all friendship, lust, and competition from each other, and in times of heightened awareness like stress or boredom, those feelings became hyper-sensitive, evoked by the slightest irregularity in the schedule.

It was only two weeks until the Hive ship arrived, and everyone was very aware of that fact. Infantry training schedules were tightened and doubled. Any missions to other worlds were cancelled, and all of the people on the mainland had been recalled. The city was busier and more crowded than usual, meaning that privacy was a privelage, and it was more often only received at night.

Maybe that was why Ronon and Elizabeth found themselves distant from one another. They'd all but forgotten the fight of two weeks ago, yet they hardly spoke. Whenever they were alone, which as of late was only at night, they immediately gave in to the physical needs, the yearning for the touch of flesh after a twelve hour day that more often than night exhausted them into a dreamless sleep. In the morning, one or the other would wake and find their mate gone. A schedule like this would make the strongest saint delusional, and neither Ronon nor Elizabeth was a saint.

He first saw them together at lunch. He hadn't planned on going in at the usual time of noon, because as of late the cafeteria had been increasingly loud and hectic. However, something had spurred Ronon to accept Carson's offer of saving a place for him. When he walked in, he didn't even see them at first. Then he smelled her. That soft, floral scent that came from her shampoo. He'd recognize it anywhere. Then he saw her. With _him_. Caldwell. Ever since the man had been found out to be that worm-thing, Ronon hadn't trusted him. Especially when the man had started to try and get into Elizabeth's good graces (read pants). He was touching her. His hand on her shoulder as he said something that made her laugh. Ronon's stomach tightened, and he wasn't hungry anymore. He wanted to go and smash in the balding man's face, then claim Elizabeth on the table where all could see and know she was his. He didn't though. A feeling, something he refused to name, stopped his movements. He was frozen, but seconds later he was moving. Leaving so that he didn't have to see her. See her forget him.

Elizabeth knew he watched, and had an idea of why he'd left so quickly. It made her smile. She knew it was evil, but she enjoyed his discomfort, enough that she put up with Caldwell's flirting. It was a small price to pay for amusement in these tense times.


	4. It Hurts

Trouble in Paradise (first fight, make-up/make-up sex, jealousy, break-up and reconciliation)

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The Trouble With Lust…It Hurts

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He was staring at her angrily over her desk, and she wasn't sure why. They hadn't been seeing much of each other lately, and it'd led to a distance between them, one Elizabeth wasn't sure how to broach. She wasn't even sure she wanted to close it, her mind was so busy lately. In one week, the Hive ship would enter the system and likely discover Atlantis. Elizabeth was dealing with the pressures from Stargate Command and Atlantis personell at the same time. Three times this week she'd had to calm down a nurse in the med-bay and convince her that they weren't going to die. In truth, she didn't even know if it was true, but she was getting tired of having to make promises to everyone else. She wanted someone to promise and comfort her. Unfortunately, her lover didn't seem to want to do that right now. 

"Where were you last night?" His voice was calm, but his eyes always gave him away. Ronon could lie with his body, his face, his movements, but he couldn't lie with his eyes. Elizabeth was just the sort of person who'd notice something like that.

"I was here, working," she answered, in a matching tone. Her eyes gave nothing away.

"With who?"

"Alone."

"I thought I saw Caldwell in here."

"If you knew where I was, why'd you ask?"

Silence. Sometimes even the most clever man could be surprised by the speed with which Elizabeth grasped things. He shrugged. "Simple question."

"He stopped in with some papers for me. Then he left."

Ronon stood and walked to the window, looking down on the control room, empty this late at night. Below it, on the main floor, there were still a few people bustling about, doing this or that. He was angry, true, but he wasn't stupid either. Or so he told himself. "I don't want to do this anymore."

"Do what?" She was still calm, almost non-chalant about the whole thing. Elizabeth had learned early in life that anger does nothing but hurt. This quiet conversation hurt more than any anger she'd ever known.

"The secrecy."

"My job is at stake, Ronon. We can't have a public relationship. If Stargate Command found out I was…with…a subordinate, I'd be recalled to Earth, and any relationship we had would end."

"I don't care."

"I do."

"I don't want to hide secrets from people. I've been hiding for too long."

Elizabeth sighed. "Then we know what we must do."

Ronon nodded, and didn't even look back at her when he walked out. Elizabeth sat there, alone, in her office, and wondered not for the first time, why she was even here.


	5. It Makes You Love

Trouble in Paradise (first fight, make-up/make-up sex, jealousy, break-up and reconciliation)

Last one! Are we ready? I hope we are. This one takes place the same week of season two's finale, so I hope we all understand the context and if we don't…too bad.

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The Trouble With Lust...It Becomes Love

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She couldn't sleep. Elizabeth couldn't sleep and it was all Ronon's fault. She'd gotten used to him. His body heat, always a little higher than her's. On cold nights in Atlantis, she appreciated that little fact. She was used to his heart beat in her ear, his leg between her's when she slept. She didn't want to admit it, but she missed him. Elizabeth did something she'd never done before. She broke. 

She sought out her lover and found him…in front of her quarters. He looked up at her footsteps and had turned to leave but she called to him. "Ronon?"

He didn't reply, just looked at her. He was often like that, silent. After a full day of talking, talking, talking, it was a relief. Ronon looked at her and there was a glint in his eyes that told her he was feeling what she was. He couldn't speak first. He was too proud. Too proud, and too weak.

Elizabeth took that first step, on the grace of God that someone would catch her. "Have dinner with me?" Simple words with a deeper meaning. _Have dinner with me_ really meant _I'm willing to try it, if you are. I'll risk my position here for you. But what will you do?_

Ronon nodded. His nod was just that. A nod. The look in his eyes was the one that felt relief. The one that showed her he was as all in and she was. He stepped close, and for a second she thought he'd kiss her and make her melt into a puddle that very instant. Instead he took her hand, holding it for a minute before pulling her with him in the direction of the cafeteria. The stress of the weeks melted away, and Elizabeth allowed herself to be comforted in her lover's presence. There were stares. There was whispering. For once, Elizabeth didn't see them, and didn't care.

That night, Ronon held her while he slept, murmuring something in his sleep, and Elizabeth cuddled into him. She felt safe. Safer than she had in months upon months of fighting the Wraith and other people who wanted to usurp her position. The Wraith were coming, and always would be. There would always be underlings trying to steal power from her or to destroy her. She knew now that no matter what, Ronon would be by her side. When you're all alone in an alien galaxy, that's all a girl could really ask for.


End file.
